U.Va. wins ACC soccer title

AROUND THE STATE

U.Va. wins title on goal by Bates

CARY, N.C. -- Last year's Times-Dispatch boys soccer player of the year, Thomas Dale's Will Bates, had the only goal of the match yesterday as Virginia continued its monthlong unbeaten streak by defeating N.C. State for the ACC tournament championship.

Goalkeeper Diego Restrepo was named the tournament's most valuable player, logging a shutout in every game to extend his streak to eight-consecutive matches. Bates' goal was his eighth of the season, a team high.

It was the team's first conference title since 2004, and Virginia is likely to earn a top seed when the brackets are announced for the NCAA tournament at 5:30 tonight. The Cavs almost assuredly will host opening-round play in Charlottesville on Thursday and Sunday.

U.Va., Tech women advance

Virginia scored six unanswered goals in a 20-minute span of the second half to beat No. 9 Penn State 6-2 in a second-round NCAA women's soccer tournament game in University Park, Pa. Two of the Cavaliers' goals came from Caroline Miller, and Chantel Jones (Midlothian) made four saves.

Meanwhile, Virginia Tech earned its second-ever NCAA tournament win, defeating host Dayton 3-1. Junior forward Marika Gray had two goals for the Hokies.

• Matthew Skonicki scored the game-winning goal in the 74th minute to lead Winthrop to a 2-1 win over Liberty in the Big South men's soccer tournament final in Boiling Springs, N.C.

• Shelley Hoath and Ashley Hoath delivered goals for Lynchburg in a 2-0 victory over Washington and Lee in a Division III women's soccer tournament match in Lexington.

• Christopher Newport shut out Cabrini 4-0 in the first round of the Division III men's soccer tournament Saturday night in Newport News. Clif Kipper started the Captains' scoring with goal in the 13th minute.

• The Virginia men's cross country team received an at-large bid to the NCAA championships, set for Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Ind. James Madison senior Alison Parris was invited to the NCAA women's meet at the same site on the same date.

• The Christopher Newport women's volleyball team reached the final eight of the Division III tournament in New York with a 3-2 victory over Salisbury State. The Captains, led by Cory Harris with 20 kills, will face by Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Thursday in Cleveland.

BOXING

Pacquiano stops Cotto

LAS VEGAS -- Manny Pacquiao's speed and power were way too much for Miguel Cotto's heart. Pacquiao put on another dominating performance Saturday night, knocking down Cotto twice and turning his face into a bloody mess before finally stopping him at 55 seconds of the 12th round.

The Filipino star won his seventh title in seven weight classes and cemented his stature as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

The fight was billed as a 145-pound classic, and it didn't disappoint. The two went after each other with a vengeance, and Cotto more than held his own. Pacquiao, coming off wins over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, added another one against Cotto, who had lost only once and held the WBO version of the welterweight title.

NBA

Speights out six to eight weeks

PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia 76ers forward Marreese Speights will miss six to eight weeks with a left knee injury. Speights was injured in the fourth quarter of a 94-88 loss at Chicago on Saturday night. An MRI revealed he has a partial tear of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

AUTO RACING

Schumacher wins Top Fuel crown

POMONA, Calif. -- Tony Schumacher won his sixth straight and seventh overall Top Fuel championship, beating Larry Dixon by two points in the closest season title race in NHRA history.

Schumacher was on deck, sitting on a two-point lead over Dixon, when Dixon was upset in the semifinals by Spencer Massey, clinching the title for the U.S. Army team.

Hector Arana (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won a championship on the season finale; while the other two championships were decided Saturday as Robert Hight (Funny Car) and Mike Edwards (Pro Stock) clinched their titles in qualifying.

The race winners at the season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona were Antron Brown (Top Fuel), Mike Neff (Funny Car), Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) and Eddie Krawiec (Pro Stock Motorcycle).

TENNIS

Djokovic wins Paris Masters

PARIS -- Third-seeded Novak Djokovic scrambled to a 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3) victory over local favorite Gael Monfils to win the Paris Masters for the first time. -- From Staff and Wire Reports